


Battleship

by Elisexyz



Series: 25 days of Swanfire fic-mas [18]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christmas Shopping, Emma and Neal raise Henry, F/M, Fluff, Tallahassee AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 15:25:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17226548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elisexyz/pseuds/Elisexyz
Summary: Emma and Neal are busy with last minute Christmas shopping. They are not having much fun.





	Battleship

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the "Christmas shopping" prompt in the [ "25 days of fic-mas" challenge on Tumblr](http://heytheredeann.tumblr.com/tagged/25-days-of-fic-mas/chrono).

“We are going to hell,” Neal announces, dropping soundly against the passenger seat with an heavy sigh. “We are _so_ going to hell.”

Emma would really like to disagree, but they have been driving from toy shop to toy shop for _hours_ now and they can’t find that damn pirate ship that Henry seems to want so much. They had decided that it was too expensive and that they’d buy him other things he wanted or liked, but whenever someone asks him what Santa is bringing to him he confidently answers ‘the pirate ship’, and they can’t seem to _sway_ him—

It’s the 23rd of December now, and the feelings of guilt have won: they are going to buy that damn pirate ship, even if it means she’ll probably have to walk to work for the next decade or so. The idea of Henry being disappointed on Christmas morning sounds much worse.

“We’d probably be better off renting an actual ship,” she mumbles, resisting the urge to bump her head against the wheel.

He snorts. “I’ll see what I can do, I think I know a guy.”

Silence falls between them, and Emma, not for the first time, can’t help picturing Henry’s pout, his eyes filled with disappointment he can’t quite mask and his enthusiasm suddenly dumped because apparently he hasn’t been _good_ enough to deserve his pirate ship – which is bullshit, because Henry is a good kid; he can be an handful at times, but he deserves all the toys he wants.

They should have bought the damn thing from the get-go, what were they _thinking_?

Well, she _knows_ what they were thinking: it really is expensive, and Henry’s obsessions have the tendency to change overnight, what were the _chances_ of this pirate ship thing lasting that long and not being overshadowed by all the other shiny toys he saw on TV commercials?

Neal was right, they shouldn’t have let him see _Peter Pan_ – he never explained why exactly he loathes the movie so much, except a very vague ‘bad childhood memories’ that she believed was best left alone, but apparently it _is_ evil made into a cartoon.

“How many more?” she sighs, her fingers wrapped around the wheel and her cheek resting against the back of her hand.

He echoes her sigh, raising three fingers.

“I think I read somewhere that three is my lucky number,” she offers, grimly, as she starts the car. She was fourteen and even then she thought it was bullshit, but _still_.

 

The next store doesn’t have it. Obviously.

It’s so crowded they can barely walk, because apparently they aren’t the only idiots still Christmas shopping during the last two days, and she tries to find someone who works in the shop while Neal sees if he can find the ship for himself.

No such luck: they walk out empty-ended, and the only reason why she doesn’t crack her head open against the wheel is that Neal asked her to switch, and the headrest just isn’t as effective.

 

They finally find the pirate ship in the next store. Emma almost starts crying of joy right then there and there, no matter all the strangers surrounding them.

It was their second to last option, and she was already preparing herself for the Worst Parent Of The Year award that she was bound to receive, but then _there_ it was. She’s pretty sure that this is what it feels like to find the Holy Grail.

Neal quickly grabs a copy of the toy – there are only two left that she can see, and they aren’t about to let someone else get them; she’s ready to fight tooth and nail for the damn thing –, holding it against his chest with a grin that’s borderline hysterical.

“We _did_ it,” he announces, with the tone of someone who can hardly believe it.

“I _know_ ,” she replies, grinning from ear to ear and repressing the urge to start jumping up and down to highlight her enthusiasm.

“And we are, once again, decent parents,” Neal grins, holding up his fist because he’s an idiot. Henry will go crazy as soon as he’ll hit that age when he’s old enough to realize how embarrassing his father is.

But Emma is dead tired and too relieved to worry about her dignity, so she simply shakes her head and bumps her fist against his. “For now,” she snorts, amused.

Now they just have to survive that horrible line to pay for the toy.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including: 
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason, feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


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